Reviews by Edgewater:

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On tap at the Pizza Plant on Main,poured a deep crimson color with a touch of brownish tint a tight 1/2 finger white head atop.Aromas of dark fruit soaked in alcohol mainly prune and raisin a faint roasted nut quality showed itself as well but it was faint.Deeply malty to be expected with brown sugar and raisin being dominant a touch of earthy-like unsweetened chocolate shows itself in the finish and the alcohol becomes more prevelant as it sits.A bigger malt bomb somewhat sweet and quite sustaining,well made in my opinion.

Aroma of dark sugars, plums. Starts out with a wealth of sweet, malty, decoction-like flavors - toffee, caramel, figs, plums. Stays pretty consistent until the finish when a hit of alcohol arrives to lessen the sweetness.

Then the kids needed tending to, and in the subsequent maelstrom of flying toy Thomas the Tank Engines and associated track the beer sat and warmed up a bit to around 60 degrees. The brew really blossomed - on top of the above, a spicy hop flavor made its way out of the glass and balanced things out wonderfully. Definitely a beer to sip over a longer period, or to serve at a somewhat warmer temperature, as that seems to bring out the most in it.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a mug. The label has no freshness date or abv%.

Appearance: Looking into the glass I am presented with a deep garnet red brew with good clarity and a tall off white to light tan head. This head slowly fades out leaving some spotty lacing at the top of the glass.

Smell: There is a big rich malty character coming out of the glass. In it I get candy sweet notes like a grape sucker or grape soda. This is backed up with a big bready sweet maltiness

Taste/Palate: The big malty sweetness from the aroma hits the tongue with candy like grape notes inside of a somewhat modest medium to full bodied bready sweetness. In the back ground there are some very subdued hop notes that offer a touch of herbal leafy spice with almost no bitterness. The palate is very smooth and lightly carbonated. Its sweetness sticks on the palate a bit but not in a heavy or to cloying a way.

Notes: It’s not the most complex Doppelbock but there is something about its basic character that I like and find enjoyable to drink.

Appearance: Very thin lacing that holds together for the time needed, mildly hazed amber brown colour shines dim in the light.

Smell: Melanoidan malt aroma, quite cloying in a way with a restrained smoky distemper.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Slick and creamy in the mouth with a heavy malt back ground. Rich dark malt flavours erupt on the sweet side of the tongue. Hops struggle all the way through. The alcohol character stay on the mellow with a spike of warmth towards the end.

Notes: I have had better double bocks but this one did me just fine. Its worth a try that is for sure the chocolates played nice with the malt flavours as well.

Dark thin head. Dark amber in color. Bready smell. Nice malty taste and it is very smooth. Not very complex in taste IMO since all I get is the malt backbone. Not very boozy for 8.5% and it is very drinkable. I am a fan of the style & this is a good doppelbock. Cheers!

This is my first taste of Wagner Valley (Vineyards) and I'm duly blown away. I like the label although I like the packaging for their IPA slightly better. Pours smooth, a dark ruby color with a struggling off white head (either because of the alcohol, or more likely from my glass). Huge malty sweet, brown sugar aroma that is impossible to avoid. The flavor is not overcomplicated, 4-5 flavors that are used well: brown sugar, malt, prune, and I swear something like a ripe apple in the back end, but maybe another ripe fruit would be more appropriate to describe it: lets say Asian pear to be really fancy. The mouth feel is silky with a medium to full body. The finish lingers for what seems like hours. If there are hops detectable it is only slight and maybe in the finish but balanced beautifully. My only concern is maybe a tad too carbonated...and in all fairness maybe I served it slightly warm, but it did foam up a bit on initial taste; however, this is nitpicking and in the grand scheme of things unnecessary.

This beer has received some mixed reviews, which should be your first tip-off that something beyond the ordinary is going on here. I could criticize this beer for lacking some of the spicy, zesty hops that most German doppels posess. Also the mouthfeel is crisp, clean and refreshing, instead of sticky and cloying like most German dopps. Furthermore, the flavor is roasty and alive, instead of being the sweet, caramelized, austere, wood-varnish, difficult-to-finish, cloy-fest that many other doppelbocks are. Maybe I'm being harsh on the style in general, but this is a damn good beer! Forget style connotations, do yourself a favor, and enjoy. There's a maple-syrup/brown-sugar forest vibe oozing from the brew (makes sense since this brew comes from the coniferous northern climes of this fair land), and the yeast is magnificent: alive, fruity, robust, healthful. Anyway I should just say, simply: I really like this beer. Any extraneous exuberance or verbiage can be attributed solely to the 8.5%

Pours a deep dark brown with an almost non-existent head. Smells very fruity. Lots of cherry and plum to the nose with a slight hint of grain in the background.

Taste is very fruity/chewy without being overly thick or sweet. It strikes a nice balance between the malt and fruit. Hops are nowhere to be found in this beer. Not too shabby. Good brew for over the cold months. Could definitely see eating some good sharp cheddar with this.

Clear russett brown with a short creamy light-tan head that holds fairly well and leaves some minor lace. The aroma clearly exhibits some alcohol and fruity toasted malts (Vienna?). The body is medium/full with a mild and very fine carbonation that leaves it quite smooth and creamy in the mouth. Nice! The flavor carries out what the aroma threatened with a boldly fruity (raisin, plum) character right up front, some toffee and light creamy chocolate mixed with brandy as it warms, and a drying alcohol finish with lingering sweet malty notes throughout the mouth. Definitely a beer to be savored! Though the alcohol is a little distracting, it's also somewhat unique and fairly enjoyable. Worth trying.

Normally I don't have much to say about the packaging of a beer, but in this case, the foil around the neck and cap of this 750ml was a real pain in the ass. It was a pain to get off, left a strange residue around the mouth of the bottle, and there was just a regular old bottlecap under there - not even a cork to pop.

Appearance is a dark amber with a marginal head. Absolutely nothing in the aroma, save for an odd metallic smell. Slight chocolate notes appear as it warms, but they're not pleasant. Medium mouthful, not enough carbonation, like soda going flat. Taste falls flat as well, with some malt and mostly that same metallic taste that was in the aroma. I can only liken the finish to sucking on a dirty nickel.

A syrupy caramel appearance with no head lowered the appearance score for this brew. Smell was disappointing..alcohol, but with a subdued malt. Taste belied the smell..it was rich, malty, syrupy, tongue coating. Mouthfeel was excellent..extremely smooth. Drinkability for the high abv was good...easy on the palate.

The head was small and color was a bit like dark cider and cloudy in appearence. It had a very malty nose and smell of dried dark fruits. The taste was good and sweet with mainly swet caramel and white chocolate accents . The mouthfeel was some what syrupy with little carbonation coming off tap. Over all this was a bit too sweet and syrupy missing some of the true doppelbock charateristics but a good beer none the less if you like sweet. I do.

First taste of a brew from the Wagner Valley folks. Look forward to trying a few more these guys put out.

Upon cracking the top I was impressed by the malty caramel aroma.

When I poured it into glass I only got about a pinky of foam. Not a lot...but hey it stayed for a while!

Taste was what really matters to me....and it had a really pleasant feel in the mouth and a nice flavor with hints of chocolate and mild spice. I kinda felt like I was drinking a stout lite...(not meant to be a negative comment). It was real smooth, yet a little thick and malty. If ya never had...I suggest ya try it!

A 12 oz bottle purchased at the brewery in late July. If you've never been, the views of Seneca Lake are beautiful.

A: The doppel is a ruddy brown-red color, just dark enough to obscure anything on the other side of the glass. A small head, never more than half a finger, quickly recedes to a thin band.

S: The bockbier has a plenty malty nose, bready malts so concentrated that they take on a fruity glow. Syrupy rich threads have plenty of sweet caramel to go around. A warming nose.

T: The taste starts off with as much richness as the nose offered. Full malts, bready with a heaping of caramel, have a fullness that verges on that of a smoked beer. A soft citrusy hop flavor runs underneath the malts, subtle but a definite change of taste. While the ale is malt-centric, it isn't an overpowering flavor. Heck, I'd be more inclined to call this a bockbier, rather than a doppel. It's nice drinker though.

M: The mouthfeel is caramel sweet, very bready and full. A warming beer that works well on a cool late-summer night.

D: The bockbier doesn't feel like an 8.5% ringer. The bready base that improves over time.

Pours maroon-tinged copper color. Skim of off-white thick head forms on the pours and has some staying power.
Aroma of some dark citrus (dates and raisins), strong backbone of toffee and just a hint of some grainy toasted malt. Detected some brown sugar or honey notes as well.
Flavor is aggressively fruity, followed by a blast of alcohol and finishes with a sticky sweet note of gooey toffee.
Medium bodied but aggressively carbonated and alive in the mouth.
Drinkability is above average but awful sweet and gooey. Could use a little bit better balance and maybe vut with some more aggressive hops to combat over ripe fruit flavors.
Thanks to Shippos for the bottle.
A decent brew and solid Winter Warmer but a lackluster Doppelbock.